Sense of Wonder
by CrystalNight1
Summary: "Eli! I promise I won't forget you!" /One-shot;AU/


**A/N: So. Um. I don't know what this is lol. Uh, enjoy and review and tell me how it is~ :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own _Degrassi._**

* * *

When he feels nervous, he walks into the large room to hear her sing. He doesn't mind that there are people on the other side of the room as long as he can hear her voice, see her blue, piercing eyes, her smile when she's done singing. Her arms are stretched out and a flower is in the center of the room, in front of the curly haired girl.

When her eyes open and her mouth closes, she catches a glimpse of him without him knowing so. She giggles, running off, and he gasps, following her out of the room. He's panting after running for ten minutes and he stops, his arm resting against a wall.

_Tomorrow, _he thinks, _I'll come see you tomorrow._

…

Her voice is as beautiful as he remembers it to be, and his eyes close in satisfaction, remembering something that happened long, long ago. During a time when they were innocent, young children. A time when there wasn't blood shed. A time when they were considered _friends. _

He remembers the red gem she gave him and absentmindedly he reaches into his pocket to make sure it's still there. And when his fingers linger over a smooth surface he smiles, watching her as she runs off with a smile.

…

She's in her room at night, looking out of the window to stare at the vast land surrounding the small city. Her head lolls to the side when she hears footsteps approaching her. Her eyes fall to the floor and there are two children looking up at her, scared, nervous, even. There's a small toy on the floor in front of the two children and slowly, she grabs it and gives it to the small little girl next to the boy.

The children smile at her and she remembers. She remembers a time when things were much more simple. She feels her heart ache behind her rib cage and before she knows it, she's playing with the little children.

_Run, run! _The children yell out, giggling, and she smiles, gasping soon after when the small girl falls and harms herself. The woman kneels on the ground, worry etched on her face.

"Are you okay?" The woman asks the little girl while grabbing her by the hand, helping her up. She catches a glimpse of the girl's hand and sees a number inscribed on her palm.

_27._

A hand is placed on top of the palm of the little girl and the woman's eyes snap up to see green eyes staring at her own blue ones. She realizes who he is instantly and sighs, standing up.

"You shouldn't have seen that, princess," the man says, holding the children by the hand and walking off, leaving the woman to ponder.

…

He goes see her sing after the incident that occurred. Her voice sounds strained and the song is different than usual. When he catches a glimpse of one of the king's friends on the other side of the room, he winces, touching the gem in his pocket. The man on the other side of the room is surrounded by women and he's staring at the princess with a disgusting look on his face.

If only he could punch the living sh –

The green-eyed man turns around, walking away before he thinks of something he'll regret.

…

There's a woman with dark hair that lives in the castle, serving the king and the people that are aristocrats. She thinks she shouldn't be around such people and she knows she should run away. But she won't. She won't because there's a light, brown haired man who sleeps with different women every night and who made her fall in love with him unintentionally.

She sees the man with the green eyes looking at the curly haired princess singing at the center of the room and her eyes soften. _I want something like that_, she thinks absentmindedly. _I want someone to love me like he loves her._

It's when she catches a glimpse of the man she's infatuated with that she bites her lip. He's eating a woman's face with his lips, ignoring the other guests around him, and that's when they call her to wash the plates.

…

The curly haired girl peeks over the curtains and catches a glimpse of him. Walking towards him, she kneels down, and sees that he's fixing the toy the young children were playing with the other day. His eyes look up to catch a glimpse of the person next to him and he blushes, looking down at the toy in his hand.

"Clare," he whispers, trying to ignore her presence so close to him.

"Eli," she smiles. "It's been… a long time."

He looks at her, curious.

"Since we've been alone, that is," she sighs, sitting on the floor.

They are staring at each other, not talking, but listening. They understand each other without talking and when her eyes narrow at him he knows she's mad.

"About that number I –"

"No," he snaps at her, his face stern. "Don't think about that."

Her eyebrows rise up at this, and he continues to fix the toy, stopping momentarily to give her a kiss.

She blushes, running off.

…

_Oh no_, Clare thinks, _he knows._

Her father grabs her by the wrist, pulling her to him, and slaps her.

_He knows! _

When Eli walks into the room, his eyes go wide, running towards the princess and her father. He's about to land a blow on the old man holding Clare when he's the one to receive the hit, and he falls back, hurt.

"Goldsworthy!" Thunders the man. "You scum!" He yells at the green eyed man struggling to get on his feet.

"Eli!" Whimpers Clare.

"You _showed _her, didn't you?" Clare's eyes snap open, not understanding what was happening.

_Showed what?_

Eli stays silent, biting his lower lip. _No, _he thinks, _it was an accident. _

"Leave," the king snarls, "before I kill you."

…

A hand ruffles his hair and he looks up to see light, brown hair.

"You too, huh?"

Eli nods.

"Jake," Eli says, looking at the tower in front of him. "You still come her when you don't know what to do?"

The tall man smiles. "Of course."

…

He manages to sneak inside the castle one more time to hear her sing. And when he does, he's happy. Happy that she's okay. Happy that her eyes are as blue as he remembers them. Happy that her hair still reminds him of autumn. Happy that her voice can still leave him in a trance.

…

"So you're the girl Eli has had his eyes on, huh?" A woman asks behind her, and she gasps when the woman on heels cups her chin. "You're prettier than I thought you would be!"

Clare gulps, blinking nervously. "W-who are –"

"Imogen," the dark haired woman says, interrupting the princess. "You must be Clare Edwards. Heard a lot about you," she says teasingly, letting go of her chin.

"Imogen?"

Both girls turn around, and Clare's heart drops. _Why is he here?_

Imogen runs towards the man and hugs him, smiling. "Eli, you're okay!"

Clare smiles, being glad that she can see him once more.

…

When they tell the king his daughter was misbehaving, he looks for someone who can sing instead of his daughter.

_She's only trash._

…

Imogen is admiring the way another girl sings inside the large room when someone walks up to her and leans against the wall.

"Jake," blushes Imogen.

"What an asshole," says Jake, talking about the king. "Getting rid of his own daughter like that."

Imogen stares on at Jake, not knowing what to say.

"This is what nobility is made of, Imo: Scumbags."

Imogen nods at this, looking back at the girl singing.

…

When Jake finds the princess outside the castle, he nears her, and Clare gets startled at his proximity.

"Princess," curtsies Jake, yanking her away from the wall she's against.

She gasps, "Let go!" And then she catches a glimpse of his hip.

_21. What does that mean?_

"You," starts Clare, her eyes wide. "Who are you people?"

"Too many details, too little time, princess," says Jake un-amused. "Don't you want to leave this rat hole?"

_Where would I go?_

"Princess," begins Jake, and Clare looks up at him, frightened. "You should ask Eli about us one day. But not now."

"Clare!"

She looks up and to the left slowly, scared of the man that called out her name. She's scared of the outcome of everything. Run away? Was that some kind of sick joke?

"Clare," begins Eli again. "Come with me."

She doesn't know why, but she grabs his hand, and they start running away.

_Oh right, _Clare thinks, _I gave him my mother's gem, didn't I?_

…

When they stop running, they are over a cliff and five people are smiling at both of them from the other side. Eli smiles largely, and waves at them.

"They're my friends, Clare," he says. "They're… part of an organization I'm in," he finally says, making her look at him with an unreadable look on her face.

"Eli… I –"

"Remember that time you gave me the gem? How you said that you would always be there for me if I wasn't sure? If I was sad or if I was lost… you told me that the gem would be there for me – to protect me, no matter what."

He placed the gem on her hand, and Clare's eyes narrowed, tears stinging her eyes.

"Here. You should have it," says Eli, making Clare cry.

_Why am I crying?_

Eli grabs her cheeks and rests his forehead against hers, muttering. "I love you, Clare. So… that's why, I want you to be happy," he says in a strained voice.

She blushes, looking at him, more tears spilling from her eyes. "I can't," is her response.

When Eli closes his eyes, he smiles, turning on his heel to walk away from her. And when he's far, far away, out of her reach, is when she finally yells out his name.

"Eli! I promise I won't forget you!" She yells, tears falling from her eyes, a knot forming in her throat.

"_Thank you."_


End file.
